The Science Contest is upon us! An extravaganza to celebrate all things jank.
What is the Science Contest?
Scientists! Your goal in the science contest is to create a short level that introduces a weird, funny or otherwise unknown game mechanic or glitch to the player, while illustrating how it can be used in a level, or just exploring the extent of its hilarity.
If you are familiar with the "Uno Más" level concept in Mario Maker, you can think of it as that.
For reference
JUDGING HAS BEGUN
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The submission period has come to an end, and our best scientists have graced us with 25 experiments to evaluate.
You have been formally invited to assist in the evaluation of these experiments.
Download the submissions via the link below and play them.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oElntf ... sp=sharing
Give them a rating ranging from F to A+, where A+ is the best score and F is the worst (F, D, C, B, A, A+), based on your experience with them. Consider how well the level teaches its focused mechanic and if you would recommend it to others looking to learn about it. Leave other thoughts, such as on the mechanic's hilarity or complexity, in the response box below each score scale.
https://forms.gle/BkZbQA21podUgEEN8
You do not have to leave a response for every level, but every input is appreciated.
You can edit your response to this form at any time during judging. Take your time.
The deadline of judging is Saturday, February 18th, Midnight GMT+1
You have been formally invited to assist in the evaluation of these experiments.
Download the submissions via the link below and play them.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oElntf ... sp=sharing
Give them a rating ranging from F to A+, where A+ is the best score and F is the worst (F, D, C, B, A, A+), based on your experience with them. Consider how well the level teaches its focused mechanic and if you would recommend it to others looking to learn about it. Leave other thoughts, such as on the mechanic's hilarity or complexity, in the response box below each score scale.
https://forms.gle/BkZbQA21podUgEEN8
You do not have to leave a response for every level, but every input is appreciated.
You can edit your response to this form at any time during judging. Take your time.
The deadline of judging is Saturday, February 18th, Midnight GMT+1
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- Don't disobey the forum rules. Should go without saying, but no theft, impersonation, harassment or other things in your levels, please!
- This contest is specifically for SMBX2 Beta 4 Patch 4.1 Hotfix. Make sure your levels are designed with that version in mind.
- Keep use of lua and custom things to a minimum. We're doing science on SMBX2, not some additional scripts you downloaded from the forums!
- You may submit a maximum of 3 levels. Teams are allowed, but you can still only have your name on up to 3 submissions.
- Each level must follow the theme of a single mechanic showcase. Making an anthology is not allowed.
- No world maps, please. We can have a world map tech science contest another time, if that turns out to be worth it.
- Insincere submissions will be disqualified. Be it garish visuals, ear-piercing sounds or the level lacking relation to the contest's theme.
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- Multiple levels may teach the same mechanic. So don't feel bad if someone else submitted a similar level showcasing the same idea.
- Use the contest forum to get feedback. As always there's a contest forum you can use to talk about anything you want regarding the contest. Get feedback on your levels, research mechanics together, etc.
- Medals will be awarded. These may be for the submission, or high quality participation in discussion on the contest forum or collaborative judging. For this contest there will be up to one medal per participant, summing up their contributions. There may also be rare additional medals for outstanding contributions.
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I am judge, jury and executioner this contest.
Submissions will be given scores /5 for each of the following:
Innate scores:
Complexity - How elaborate is the setup required to get this mechanic to work in the way displayed?
Versatility - How varied are the uses for this mechanic? Can it be used in gameplay?
Hilarity - How funny is it?
Meta scores:
Clarity - How well does the level teach the mechanic?
Structure - How extensively does the level explore the mechanic? Do major interesting aspects remain unmentioned? Are too many insignificant things covered which drag out the level?
If a submission blows its competition out of the water, it may receive a 6/5 in a category. Thus the theoretical, practically unreachable, total is 30 points.
However, unlike for other contests, these categories don't really form a total score. Instead, they aim to give an overview over the level's and mechanic's qualities. Don't focus too hard on reaching the max score in all of them. If you want to chase high scores, min-max for a high score in one or two of the innate scores, while doing your best to maximize the meta scores.
Rewards for our diligent scientists (that's you!) will be handled entirely through medals.
Submissions will be given scores /5 for each of the following:
Innate scores:
Complexity - How elaborate is the setup required to get this mechanic to work in the way displayed?
Versatility - How varied are the uses for this mechanic? Can it be used in gameplay?
Hilarity - How funny is it?
Meta scores:
Clarity - How well does the level teach the mechanic?
Structure - How extensively does the level explore the mechanic? Do major interesting aspects remain unmentioned? Are too many insignificant things covered which drag out the level?
If a submission blows its competition out of the water, it may receive a 6/5 in a category. Thus the theoretical, practically unreachable, total is 30 points.
However, unlike for other contests, these categories don't really form a total score. Instead, they aim to give an overview over the level's and mechanic's qualities. Don't focus too hard on reaching the max score in all of them. If you want to chase high scores, min-max for a high score in one or two of the innate scores, while doing your best to maximize the meta scores.
Rewards for our diligent scientists (that's you!) will be handled entirely through medals.
Spoiler: show
The procedure after submissions close and the level pack will be made available is as follows:
- I judge the levels
- I record videos of all levels This was definitely me overscoping things. I'm not able to do that at this time.
- I create a contest episode
- All these things will release simultaneously
But since waiting for all that can be boring, some of you might be inclined to check out the submissions for yourself and give valuable insight and opinions on how hilarious you think zipping is.
While I did say I would be judge, jury and executioner, I will hear those recommendations and tune the stipends awarded to your fellow scientists accordingly.
More details when submissions close.
- I judge the levels
- I record videos of all levels This was definitely me overscoping things. I'm not able to do that at this time.
- I create a contest episode
- All these things will release simultaneously
But since waiting for all that can be boring, some of you might be inclined to check out the submissions for yourself and give valuable insight and opinions on how hilarious you think zipping is.
While I did say I would be judge, jury and executioner, I will hear those recommendations and tune the stipends awarded to your fellow scientists accordingly.
More details when submissions close.
The deadline for submissions is January 31st, 2023. Midnight GMT+1
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